Business Tips for Applicators

Venetian Plaster application can be very profitable - Page 2 of 5

Sealers: For our Natural Olive Oil Sealer, the product cost per square foot is about $.20. An applicator can charge about $1.00 per square foot for application. Successive layers can also be charged at $1.00 per square foot.

Acrylic Sealer is about $.10 per square foot product cost. It goes on with a roller and brush, and can be charged at $.50 per square foot. The same is true for varnishes.

Getting too far into waxes, such as Briwax, is not recommended. They are more labor intensive. Wax can be charged at least $1.50 per square foot.

Glazes and various faux finish products can also be charged at $1.00 per square foot.

Business Tips:
Were you to utilize the above mentioned pricing suggestions ($7.00 - $8.00 per square foot), you would make about $1,000 per day. If you have crew doing the application, you can do quite well.

Remember to include the price of masking materials, ladder rentals, scaffolding, etc. into your price quote to your customer. Warning; certain applications, such as a mix of several colors, can become artistic challenges and take an unlimited amount of time. Avoid this in your business as much as possible. Nonetheless, your business will thrive if you always strive to be the best plaster/wall finish applicator in the world.

If you want to be a professional applicator, here are some useful guidelines:

- You should be licensed in the state you work in. Have bonding and insurance for your business. Insurance is for damage you may incur on the property. Bonding is an assurance to your clients that the job will be completed, either by you or someone else. Different states have different requirements. Some have none. Take this seriously. Some of your competitors will jump at the opportunity to turn you in if you do not comply with legal requirements and industry standards.

- Have the proper contract forms when making bids or writing contracts. Always make a duplicate copy of everything for your records. Here are some examples of forms you should have when bidding, collecting money and closing a job. Remember; these are sample forms. Contact a lawyer to be certain the forms you are using are the right ones for where you work. - When bidding on a job, make sure you will profit. An average salary for many faux finishers and plasterers is about $50 per hour (when square foot costs are calculated).

- Make attractive, professional business cards. Stand-out cards can make the difference. Keep them simple and elegant. Don't overdo it with colors and by-lines.

- Always calculate extra material costs in your bid. Masking, primer, sealer, scaffolding, gas, and travel time all need to be considered when making bids. You can charge your clients extra for scaffolds and out of the ordinary things, but it is usually better to just include everything in the bid as a price per square foot cost.

- Have a portfolio of pictures of projects and samples. If you have not done any projects; no problem. Go to our Gallery and enlarge any of the pictures and print them on good photo printing paper on a photo computer printer. Put the pictures into transparent plastic sheet protectors with 3 ring holes for a binder. There are fancy binders that look more like leather bound portfolios. Presentation is important considering the cost of the service. Your picture portfolio with about 10 great physical samples (small samples on drywall) makes a perfect presentation for clients. Better yet, if you have a laptop, you can do a digital slideshow for your clients.

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